Ana Moura has become a leading exponent of this poetic, deeply expressive idiom which personifies the Portuguese psyche as it explores such universal themes as lost love, separation, and longing.
As Ana explains, "It's very special because it's all about emotions and feelings. It needs no translation."
Ana was born in 1980, in Santarém, the bustling capital of the Ribatejo province in the center of Portugal's heartland on the Tejo River northeast of Lisbon.
The city of half a million souls is also one of Portugal's most historic cities -- an ideal place to develop an appreciation for fado. "I've been singing fado since I was little, because grew up listening to it at home," she recalls of her early home life. "My parents sang well, and at family gatherings, we all would sing."
Like young people everywhere, she soon developed an appreciation for other styles of music. The lure of singing fado, however, never waned. In her late teens, while sing pop and rock music with a local band, Ana always included at least one fado in each performance. Then, one night on a whim, about five years ago, she and some friends went to one of Lisbon's storied fado houses -- small performance venues where singers, guitarists and aficionados gather to worship the affecting style that's become Portugal's most important music export.
At the urging of her companions, she sang. "People liked me," she recalls of her first foray into a venerated bastion of the fado culture. Later that year, at a Christmas party that was attended by a lot of fadistas (fado singers) and guitarists, she sang again and, as fate would have it, noted fado vocalist Maria de Fe was in the audience and was duly impressed. "She asked me to sing at her fado house," Ana recalls of the fortuitous moment that launched her career.
"My life changed when I began going to the fado houses," Ana states today. "There's no microphone -- it's very intimate. New singers learn through a kind of apprenticeship, learning the intricacies of the style from the older, more established singers."
Before long, word of Ana's rich contralto, stunning looks and innate affinity for the demanding style spread, winning airtime on local television programs devoted to fado and rave reviews in Lisbon newspapers.
Ana has emerged as a leading voice of traditional fado just as the venerable idiom is enjoying a renaissance of popularity. "Today," she explains, "there's a new generation that sings lyrics related to our time. There are some older fado songs that we, the younger singers, cannot perform, because the lyrics are about a time and themes we don't identify with. We don't feel it, and fado is all about feelings. We must feel what we sing, and there are many older fados that don't belong to our generation. Younger singers use lyrics that speak of today, so young people have begun to get more interested in the music again."
As with jazz and country music in the U.S., tango in Argentina, samba in Brazil, fado sprang from the culture of working class people. And, as with the aforementioned examples, over the years the style evolved from humble origins to win broad appeal. Today, as Ana proudly proclaims, "In Portugal, fado is for everyone."
Like virtually every aspiring fadista, Ana drew early inspiration from the example of Amalia Rodrigues, the revered singer who most personified the style. "It was her soul and her voice," she comments of the late vocalist's singular imprint on the music. "She had everything in her. Some singers have a great voice by no soul, no intensity. Others have feeling but not a suitable voice. She had it all, and, she was a very good improviser."
Improvising is an under-appreciated part of the fado tradition. One technique, which Ana uses to great effect on the song "Lavava no rio lavava" (I Went to the River to Wash), is what the Portuguese term vocalisos -- the expression of words and effects through use of vocal trills. The practice is believed to have been absorbed over centuries of exposure to Spanish flamenco and Moorish styles.
A key track from her album exquisitely sums up the magnetic pull fado has exerted on Ana. "Sou do fado, sou fadista" (I belong to fado, I am a fadista) by her mentor and primary collaborator, guitarist Jorge Fernando, eloquently explains Ana's total surrender to the style:
"I know my soul has surrendered, taken my voice in hand, twisted in my chest and shown it to the world. And I have closed my eyes in a wistful longing to sing, to sing. And a voice sings to me softly, and a voice enchants me softly, I belong to fado, I belong to fado, I am a fadista."
Today, Ana Moura still thinks of how and where it all began, and of the importance of keeping those vital ties alive. "Before," she muses, "I used to sing in the fado house every day. Today, because of my concert schedule and travel, it's impossible. But, when time permits, I like to return. Sometimes I feel that I must go there. I need that."
(Adapted from a text by Cindy Byram)
Amor Afoito
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se me souberes pedir, tonto
Não me venhas com truques
Para, já te conheço bem demais
Dou-te o meu amor
Sem qualquer condição, por ora
Mas terás de provar que vales
Se me souberes cuidar
Já sei teu destino
Li ontem a sina
A sorte nos rirá, amor
Se quiseres arriscar
Não temas a vida
Amor, este fogo
Não devemos temer
Dou-te o meu amor
Em troca desse olhar, doce
Não resisto e tu tão bem sabes
Tenho raiva de assim ser
Tudo em mim, amor, é teu, podes tocar, não mordo
Sabes bem que não minto, tonto
Meu mal é ter verdade a mais
Se me souberes cuidar
Já sei teu destino
Li ontem a sina
A sorte nos rirá, amor
Se quiseres arriscar
Não temas a vida
Amor, este fogo
Não devemos temer
Se me souberes cuidar
Já sei teu destino
Li ontem a sina,
A sorte nos rirá, amor
Se quiseres arriscar
Não temas a vida
Amor, este fogo
Não devemos temer
The lyrics of Ana Moura's song "Amor Afoito" convey a message of giving love without condition but with the requirement of being proven worthy. The singer is giving their love to someone who they know too well and won't be tricked by. They also express a desire to be taken care of and a belief in destiny, that they have already read their lover's future in the stars. There is a sense of risk-taking when it comes to love, as the singer encourages their lover not to fear it, as it's a fire that should not be feared.
The singer also shares their vulnerability, admitting that everything they have is for their lover to touch and that their honesty sometimes brings them trouble. They are giving their love in exchange for a loving gaze but express frustration at how easily they fall for their lover. The repeated refrain emphasizes the importance of taking care of each other and not being afraid of love's risks.
Overall, "Amor Afoito" presents a complex and nuanced view of love, with both excitement and fear, vulnerability and strength.
Line by Line Meaning
Dou-te o meu amor
I give you my love
Se me souberes pedir, tonto
If you know how to ask me, foolish one
Não me venhas com truques
Don't come to me with tricks
Para, já te conheço bem demais
Stop, I already know you too well
Sem qualquer condição, por ora
Without any condition, for now
Mas terás de provar que vales
But you will have to prove that you are worth it
Mais que o que já mostraste ser
More than what you have already shown to be
Se me souberes cuidar
If you know how to take care of me
Já sei teu destino
I already know your destiny
Li ontem a sina
I read the signs yesterday
A sorte nos rirá, amor
Luck will smile upon us, my love
Se quiseres arriscar
If you want to risk it
Não temas a vida
Don't be afraid of life
Amor, este fogo
Love, this fire
Não devemos temer
We shouldn't be afraid
Em troca desse olhar, doce
In exchange for that sweet look
Não resisto e tu tão bem sabes
I can't resist and you know it very well
Tenho raiva de assim ser
I'm angry at myself for being like this
Tudo em mim, amor, é teu, podes tocar, não mordo
Everything in me, my love, is yours, you can touch, I won't bite
Sabes bem que não minto, tonto
You know well that I don't lie, foolish one
Meu mal é ter verdade a mais
My problem is having too much truth
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mada Mascarenhas
Dou-te o meu amor
Se mo souberes pedir, tonto
Nâo me venhas com truques
Pára, já te conheço bem demais
Dou-te o meu amor
Sem qualquer condição, por ora
Mas terás de provar que vales
Mais Que o que já mostraste ser
Se me souberes cuidar,
Já sei teu destino
Li ontem a sina,
A sorte nos rirá, amor
Se quiseres arriscar
Não temas a vida
Amor, este fogo
Não devemos temer
Dou-te o meu amor
Em troca desse olhar, doce
Não resisto e tu tão bem sabes
Tenho raiva de assim ser
Tudo em mim, amor, é teu, podes tocar, não mordo
Sabes bem que não minto, tonto
Meu mal é ter verdade a mais
Se me souberes cuidar,
Já sei teu…
Zofia Marcinkowska
Thank you for telling me lies
Thank you for making me cry
Now I know I've got a heart
I've got a big bloody heart
I know
'Cause you stole it and you broke it
And I thank you
Thank you for leading me astray
And thank you for every miserable day
Now you know I've got a heart
You've got a big bloody heart
I know
'Cause you gave it and you took it away
And I thank you
I used to give the bum a dime
Now I tip ten bucks
I used to be a man of God
I wore Him around my neck
Now I believe in good times and good luck
'Cause you were so bad
So thank you for driving me mad
Now I know I've got a heart
I've got a big bloody heart
I know
'Cause you stole it and you broke it
And I thank you
Thank you
Nane Lins
Essa música é tão linda!
Sueli Lima | Surrealize-Se
Sonhei? Ouvíamos juntos a música, e eu te amava sozinha. Esta canção linda era da sua coleção...agora eu tbem sou, só mais uma. E eu, tonta, agora ouço sozinha, te amo sozinha e sozinha tô aqui falando. Saudade de você...vai e volta. Hoje é dia de maré muito alta...
Marcia Augusto
amo fado!
sou brasileira, mas com sangue português!
Maria Ripardo
Há exatos 10 anos conhecia a bela música de Ana Moura !Marcante!Adoravel!
Pedro Gordinho
2:45 A guitarra Portuguesa também sabe cantar e que bem que canta.
ejricarte
A letra dessa musica ja é linda e cantada na voz de Ana Moura, fica simplesmente espetacular
Patricia Coelho Gomes
Adoro esta música! Brasil amando Portugal!
Octavio trejo castillo
México amado Portugal
Mada Mascarenhas
Dou-te o meu amor
Se mo souberes pedir, tonto
Nâo me venhas com truques
Pára, já te conheço bem demais
Dou-te o meu amor
Sem qualquer condição, por ora
Mas terás de provar que vales
Mais Que o que já mostraste ser
Se me souberes cuidar,
Já sei teu destino
Li ontem a sina,
A sorte nos rirá, amor
Se quiseres arriscar
Não temas a vida
Amor, este fogo
Não devemos temer
Dou-te o meu amor
Em troca desse olhar, doce
Não resisto e tu tão bem sabes
Tenho raiva de assim ser
Tudo em mim, amor, é teu, podes tocar, não mordo
Sabes bem que não minto, tonto
Meu mal é ter verdade a mais
Se me souberes cuidar,
Já sei teu…
Angélica Martínez R.
No sé portugués, pero esta canción me encanta, es hermosa!